WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., July 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) today released its 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, detailing many of its community and sustainability efforts to fulfill its mission to make the world a better place to live. The report covers several key community and sustainability themes including multicultural banking, ethical banking practices and policies, cybersecurity, associate engagement, charitable giving, environmental sustainability and responsible growth.

"I continue to be inspired by our associates' desire to bring about positive change in our communities," said BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kelly S. King. "Through hands-on service, focused generosity and an unwavering commitment to our values, we have the honor of partnering with individuals and organizations to build a more promising future for the communities we serve. I'm proud and excited to share our results through this report as I believe it speaks volumes about what it means to be part of the BB&T family."

Highlights of BB&T's CSR report include:

• Affordable Housing: BB&T provided affordable housing financing of more than $718 million, which was a component of its total community development lending of more than $2 billion.
• Associate Engagement: With an engagement level of 77% for our 37,000 associates, BB&T associates are among the most engaged in the financial services industry.
• Building Future Leaders: The Emerging Leaders Certification Program, a six-hour leadership program funded and hosted by The BB&T Leadership Institute, was held at 40 colleges and certified more than 2,000 students in the 2017-2018 academic year.
• Charitable Giving: BB&T and its Charitable Fund granted more than $26 million to support communities and charitable organization across its footprint. These grants included $750,000 to fund relief efforts from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as other natural disasters. BB&T also donated $100 million to BB&T's philanthropic fund in December to support charitable organizations in our communities.
• Commitment to Culture: BB&T celebrated and solidified its culture by holding 53 mission dinners in 39 cities throughout its footprint. Members of the Executive Management team attended each of these town hall-style meetings to inspire and more deeply connect associates to its culture.
• Community Service: Associates completed more than 1,200 projects, provided more than 80,000 volunteer hours and helped positively change the lives of more than 1.5 million people through the BB&T Lighthouse Project, a nationwide community service program designed to exemplify BB&T's mission and serve as a beacon of light to neighbors in need.
• Environmental Sustainability: BB&T invested more than $40 million in 1,200 of its facilities with the goal of decreasing energy and water consumption, and set new corporate sustainability targets of reducing energy and water consumption by 25% and 10%, respectively, over the next five years.
• Financial Education: Through the BB&T Financial Foundations program, students in 1,289 high schools in 15 states received training in critical personal finance skills such as banking, insurance, investments, budgeting, higher education and more.

BB&T's full CSR report is available for download in the "About BB&T" section of BBT.com.

About BB&T
BB&T is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $220.7 billion in assets and market capitalization of approximately $40.6 billion, as of March 31, 2018. Building on a long tradition of excellence in community banking, BB&T offers a wide range of financial services including retail and commercial banking, investments, insurance, wealth management, asset management, mortgage, corporate banking, capital markets and specialized lending. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates more than 2,000 financial centers in 15 states and Washington, D.C. A Fortune 500 company, BB&T is recognized consistently for outstanding client service by Greenwich Associates for small business and middle market banking. More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at BBT.com.

SOURCE BB&T Corporation